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SFDA stands for Saudi Food and Drug Authority. As the name itself suggests, it is an institutionalized authority that takes care of the legitimacy and the credibility of all the edible items and the medicinal drugs. It had been established as per the standards endorsed by Council of Ministers Resolution No. (1) which in turn directly is accountable to the President of the organisation. The primary objective of the organisation is to ensure that all the human beings and animals are consuming food that is safe and has adequate nutritional value. It also certifies the toxicity level of any of the food product that is under scrutiny. Within its broad ambit, the safety of the electrical products as well as chemical products is also evaluated.

Members of SFDA


Since it is a very important institutionalisation, it consists of a lot of pertinent members. All the important ministries such as Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Interior and Industry and Commerce, Ministry of Water and Electricity and all the other dedicated and reputable ministries from the domain of finance and commerce have an active participation in the making of the SFDA guidelines. Any product which is not deemed proper to be consumed by any of the experts from this domain is reconsidered before it is sold in the open market. These people together form a board to collectively ruminate over the authenticity of all these biological and chemical products that are consumed by the living beings, either as a form of food item or anything else.

In the recent times, as the contamination through water, air, food, water as well as physical contact has increased significantly, SFDA has become more proactive than ever to ascertain the elimination of any of the toxic element in food or medicinal item. Some of the most important roles and responsibilities of SFDA are as follows.

SFDA- Roles and Responsibilities

Being one of the most authoritative bodies underlines a lot of objectives and in an endeavour to accomplish those, certain guidelines have been set and it has to be ensured that all the medical industries, which are authorized by the Central Government, abode by these, with no exceptions whatsoever.

  1. To evaluate and critically analyse the value of the food items that are being consumed by humans as well as animals. This includes keeping a strict check on the ingredients, packaging as well as the expiry date.
  2. To make sure that all the additives that are added in food items as well cosmetic items. All the pesticides that are used in the agriculture sector also needs to undergo the evaluation procedure under
  3. To determine the high standards of the medicinal content in the pharmaceutical tablets and to keep a data of its impact on public health.
  4. To make sure of the safety of all the devices that are used to diagnose the ailments or infections of any sorts.
  5. To be able to come up with realistic solutions and policies for food and drugs department and to try to abide by those with as much accuracy as possible.
  6. To carry out multiple surveys and studies in order to identify the various health concerns, the methods of their proliferation and to come up with implementable solutions. An association with authorized bodies such as KACST and other university affiliated research centres help SFDA in achieving these goals.
  7. To regulate the issue of license to food, medical or pharmaceutical industries.

Two Phases of Operation of SFDA

SFDA works in two phases. While the first phase is dedicated towards creating a fundamental approach, the second phase is more immediately concerned with the establishment of proper institutions to implement the guidelines.

Let us first look at The First Phase of SFDA which generally lasts for 5 years.

  1. It tends to keep on getting updates about the various revolutions in the industry and makes suitable laws so that a standardized approach can be adhered to by various legal bodies.
  2. It builds upon the food and drug policies and to improve the quality assurance output.
  3. It helps the various administrative set up their regulatory channels and to give help in the form of mechanism and resources.
  4. It suggests methods to Food and Drugs Institutions so that they can get all the details about the ingredients used in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
  5. It establishes prompt correspondence between various units so that the problems identification and the proposal of solution can take place effortlessly.
  6. It prepares guidelines for the production, manufacturing as well as transportation and distribution of various services. SASCO collaborates with SFDA to ensure it is done with accuracy.
  7. It consults with the Ministry of Rural Affairs and make adequate outlets for the rural people to get an easy access to these services.

In addition to these pointers, SFDA is also responsible for penalising anyone who breaks the laws and who trivialises the process of checking the quality and quantity of the ingredients used in any of the food items.

Phase Two of SFDA Operations

  • It includes conducting essential steps in order to ascertain that all the essential guidelines are being adhered to.
  • It links all the proposed items with their medicinal and nutritional value and to determine that all these items respect the cultural and agriculture background.
  • It makes sure that all the items are duly available during the quarantine period.
  • It establishes prompt correspondence between various units so that the problems identification and the proposal of solution can take place effortlessly.
  • It prepares guidelines for the production, manufacturing as well as transportation and distribution of various services. SASCO collaborates with SFDA to ensure it is done with accuracy.
  • It consults with the Ministry of Rural Affairs and, make adequate outlets for the rural people to get an easy access to these services

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